


Operation: Knightshade

by raebeme



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clone OCs - Freeform, Fix-It, Jedi Culture, Medical Inaccuracies, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Unreliable Narrator, Zillo Beast - Freeform, but its gonna hurt first, clone culture, i will be updating tags with each chapter, no beta we die like B1 Battle Droids, sith fuckery, sith reveal au, thats not how the force works, the force is an eldritch monster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25373257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raebeme/pseuds/raebeme
Summary: Then that great green eye peered over the ledge. The zillo roared, smug and ferocious.It thinks it's won, Sheev realized, head aching and heart pounding. That animal thought it had killed him.It thought it would be that easy.Sidious makes a Bad Call and the Republic tries to lance an infection only to realize they need to remove the whole damn limb.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224| Cody & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 101





	Operation: Knightshade

_So this is what it comes to_ , thought Sheev Palpatine. Life or death. He curled his lip watching the Jedi, stories below, through the plexi of the windshield. They were utterly useless throwing themselves at the beast. Oh, it was a wonderful specimen, no doubt there would be plenty of opportunity for the zillo in the future. But at the moment Sheev would rather the creature be rendered to slag than think of possibilities in the making. 

“Sir,” yelled the senate guard grabbing Sheev’s shoulder, what impudence. Slanting his eyes at the guard, Sheev knocked the man's hand away. Once this was dealt with he would need to move up the timetable on fully integrating the clones with the guard. They would never so much as look in Sheev’s direction when it was done with, nevermind touching his person without permission.

Glancing back to track the slow progress of the Jedi, Sheev growled quietly. The sound of blasters and pulse canons rang loud in his ears but nothing was overpowering the animal. How long had it taken on Malistar for it to succumb? The boy had mentioned that it hadn’t been a quick process but surely the Jedi realized their mistake in not increasing their firepower. Though it was foolish of him to assume any sort of foresight when the Jedi were involved.

“Sir,” the guard was trying again, this time he kept his hands to himself. “We must get you out of here!”

Rolling his eyes, Sheev resolved to ensure this idiot did _not_ return to service. Of course he needed to get out of here, how astute for the little guardian. Spinning around, Palpatine made to follow the boy in blue out of the detached cockpit. 

A giant hand slammed down, crushing the guard. 

Gore splashed across the Chancellors shoes and for just a moment Sheev blinked at the giant limb so close he could feel the creature's body heat. Jerking backwards in alarm Palpatine stumbled back into the ship crying out for someone to help him. 

Outside of the shuttle the zillo beast screamed for all the world to hear. All the small animals running about its feet flinching at the sound, clutching their heads and squeezing their eyes closed.

Palpatine wailed in fright. Someone needed to save him, _now_! Frantically, the chancellor hustled across the cabin. If the beast shifted its weight the fragile body of the ship would be crushed and Palpatine along with it. 

Ducking to look through the plexi Palpatine waved wildly at a diving LAAT/i. Another large hand swept out after the ship, the creature screaming even louder. As the ship rolled away Palpatine wondered if that had been Kenobi in the cabin. 

Shaking his head, Sheev bemoaned himself for being so foolish. He couldn’t rely on the Jedi to save their chancellor. He couldn’t even rely on the boy, so distracted by Amidala. 

“Chancellor! Sir, are you still aboard the downed shuttle?!” 

Sheev jerked, _the comms still had power_?

Diving, the man made a grab for the little device nearly, crying before he even pressed down on the mic.

“Yes! Yes, oh please save me! This is Chancellor Palpatine! You must help me!”

“Sir! You need to stay off the comm —patching you through, now!” The clone’s voice, so indistinct from one another, was so very welcome to hear right now. 

“Oh, help me,” moaned Palpatine in return, taking careful consideration to hold the line longer than necessary.

“Chancellor Palpatine, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi, we are coordinating your rescue, but sir you must exit the shuttle.” 

Of course it was Kenobi, who else would it be. What an imbecile, did he not see the beast crawling around outside? The blasted thing was blocking Sheev’s only exit option. He sighed, it didn't matter what level of authority you reached, in the end you had to do everyone’s job for them. 

Making more panicked flailing motions in the window Palpatine cried “I’m trapped! It's going to eat me!” into the comm. 

“No sir!” came the quick reply, one of the clones again. “We are distracting it, sir! Sit tight!”

Sit tight? Sheev blinked at the comm in disgust. How casual a tone to take with the Supreme Chancellor. Mandatory reconditioning for the planetside clones once this was through with. Sheev couldn’t have the clones thinking they could get away with such flagrant disrespect with the Chancellor like they could with their ignorant Jedi generals. Those simpletons would rather respect the ‘value of individuality’ than understand the power in a cohesive, shocking image of one troop marching in millions.

The broken shuttle lurched, throwing Palpatine to the floor. He made a wordless cry into the comm, drowned out by the zillo and the screech of metal. The shuttle, already perilously close to falling, started to tilt. Feeling his heart lurch in his chest, Sheev hauled his old body up. This was no time to sit around and let the Jedi kill him through sheer incompetence. 

Through the window he thought he could see the gunship making another pass. The shuttle jerked again, and Sheev lost his balance, grabbing at a chair, clawing his way upright. Ahead the paw moved as the zillo twisted to bite at the little Jedi running along its back. Palpatine lunged for the opening intending to throw himself out into the open and the moderate safety of solid steel, when the shuttle fell. 

Sheev yelled, trying to push free of the tomb. His comm, clutched unthinkingly in his hand blared instructions

“—cellor, grab—”

Just a touch more and he would be free of the casket.

“—old on!”

Almost! And then Sheev would be falling, but free of the death trap. 

Abruptly the fall was cut short as the harpooned end of a winch pierced the shuttle. The momentum from the drop sent the craft swinging wildly and Sheev, still human regardless of power, cracked his head on a floor-turned wall-turned roof, sliding out of the broken end of the ship. Stars danced in the corners of his vision and for a moment the old man nearly whited-out from the blow. 

Free fall was a very long way to the ground. People didn’t even think about it anymore. When would anyone realistically encounter the issues of falling in a modern society? Grav-engines were as common as craters on a moon and magnetism built into boots and outerwear meant that most people didn’t even blink at running across open catwalks.

Time slowed down and time sped up. There was no constant, only the pull of the universe. Grabbing tight and refusing to let go. As he fell Sheev could see the LAAT/i drop the shuttle turning to come about. Somewhere overhead he could see faint blue repulsors of a droid burning hot. 

Then that great green eye peered over the ledge. The zillo roared, smug and ferocious. _It thinks it's won_ , Sheev realized, head aching and heart pounding. That animal thought it had killed him. It thought it would be that easy.

 _Oh, how amusing_ , thought Sidious.

The Sith caught himself, landing easily. Breathlessly he laughed, rolling his shoulders as his collar dampened with blood. It had been truly a long time since he’d felt such a rush. It was too bad that he’d had to resort to such obvious methods but he’d just have the clones clean up the mess when this was through. Write a sad speech about all who died and grieve with the Senate.

Above him the zillo bellowed a challenge. Sidious laughed again and brought himself to bear. The creature lunged and Sidious held out a hand, fingers spread lazily. 

The lightning caught the varmint across its oddly narrow chest, rippling along its shoulders and curling across scales. The monster screamed and didn't stop its approach down the side of the Senate Building. Frowning slightly Sidious relaxed his grasp on the lightning. It couldn’t possibly withstand the brute force of the Sith, so perhaps its outer shell was even more powerful than believed. 

Jumping to a better vantage point the Sith considered his options. In his hand the communicator squawked. Kenobi, always shouting for answers rather than using sense. It was interspersed with calls from that first clone. In a moment of inspiration Sidious let a grin curl across his teeth. There was an easy way to deal with this after all.

Almost casually Sidious brought the comm to his mouth and said, “Clone, execute order 39.”

The responding clone answered with a sharp, respectful “Yes, Sir” despite Kenobi and that insipid Windu in the background yelling for some sort of score to belay that order.

Dropping the communicator, the Sith made another great leap bringing himself near his original height on the building edge. Sneering at the beast, Sidious raised both hands this time, his lightning wild and powerful engulfing the creature. Sidious laughed, throwing his head back and calling the Force forward. Funneling it through his body charging it to strike again and again.

 _This_ was power! _This_ was what those pathetic Jedi dreamed of. Only he could bring this leviathan down, only Darth Sidious could _control_ such a creature. 

It's great green eyes rolled in its head as the monster thrashed and wailed. Laughing, Sidious released the lightning and shoved hard. The beast stepped back. Again Sidious shoved at the beast and again it stepped back over the edge of the building. 

That was no great fall for such a creature though. Just a stumble, but it stood no chance against the power of the Sith. Sidious laughed again as the creature floundered. Grinning, Sidious reached out to the animal, not to shove this time but to smother. Reaching into its mind Sidious slowly strangled the life out of the creature. Oh, not all of it, just the parts that made the creature a hindrance to handle. 

His science team had been very firm about the benefits of a live specimen after all, and cloning would take so much time.

Down below in the streets the tanks were firing on one another as the gunships careened through the air. Blaster-fire and smoke, the work of a true battlefield was such a delight. So rarely did Sidious get to enjoy the fruits of his planning. 

With a chuckle, Sidious glanced around to find the rest of the Jedi and dispose of them. It was a pity about Amidala, she was so useful politically. Even recently she’d been useful to entice the boy into idiotic hormone driven passions. 

But if a monster could destroy the little green wretch then there truly was no way the darling daughter of Naboo could possibly survive. Though it meant that Sidious would need to catch the boy much like the zillo. The chips had been a great accomplishment and Sidious was sure they would find a way to implant them into a developed mind while Sidious found a new distraction to keep the boy’s attention. 

And then the Hero With No Fear would rise again, from some crippling injury or the other, and gallantly lead the Republic into its future.

Sometimes Sidious truly impressed himself. In the distance he could see the flashes of lightsabers deflecting laser-fire. At least those clones were good for something. A gunship fired on the scattering Jedi. 

Snorting a little as he watched the blades leap in different directions Sidious marveled at the thin grasp the Jedi had over the Force. Nothing powerful, nothing useful, just weak-willed clutching. Nothing firm in their stances, nothing to protect themselves. They were no better than babies. No, they were worse than infants, with those it was at least expected for them to fail in the beginning. 

Grinning the Sith slid his lightsaber out of his sleeve as he prowled forward. Surprise from the clones would deal with Windu and Kenobi, which left Yoda as the only credible threat on the ground. He would deal with the fiend easily enough. 

And then, oh and then, he would use this war, this escalation in the streets to bring the Republic to heel. Oh yes, he would save them, save them all from this horrific life of insecurity and treachery. And then he would reign over his galactic empire. How the Sith of old would writhe in their tombs. 

Keeping an eye on the distant green blade Sidious very nearly missed striking down the blaster bolt.

“Chancellor! Explain yourself!” Amidala snarled at the old man. Her face twisted in fury, eyes blazing.

“Padmé, my dear girl, what _are_ you doing?” asked Palpatine, chiding the young politician. In his hand the lightsaber hummed the color of blood.

Before she could answer, Sidious waved her away. It didn’t really matter at this point, she’d be dead very soon. 

“You should leave, Padmé, it's not safe here, I do believe we are in the midst of a battle.”

“One you caused! Chancellor Palpatine, I am,” she paused so briefly that only another Nabooian trained politician would have noticed, “I am, as a member of the Galactic Senate, placing you under arrest!”

The girl even had the nerve to level her blaster at the Sith. Absolutely outrageous, the sheer gall on this girl. Shame she couldn’t harness the Force to any true strength. If she had, Sidious would have called her into his shadow long ago. 

Sidious leered, feeling the Force curl through him, pulling at his skin and sharpening his gaze. There was little left of the pitiful man the galaxy bowed to. He was the master, the ruler, the guide. It was Sidious who loomed up towering over this little girl, so small, so close-minded. Still a child of the grasses, unfettered to the eddies of life. 

She shook in her boots, taking a step back, much like the felled beast. The tremors of her uncertain hand pulled the blaster off its mark. _Dear girl_ , thought the Sith, _you were a fool to think you could stand in my way_.

And then her eyes narrowed and her breath firmed. Long practice pulled at her ribs, Padmé, the child queen, warrior-queen, the guardian of the free peoples of Naboo, fired another shot at the Sith. His corruptions slid from her mind as oil parts from water.

The bolt missed her mark, streaking over a shoulder and into the distance, one shock-blue dart streaking away from the ferocious warrior and the undefended, feeble old man she’d shot at. 

Palpatine cried out, grasping at his warm shoulder. He’d thrown himself to the ground moments too late to avoid spillage from the blaster bolt. 

“Padmé!”

The boy was here at last. Prephas it was too soon to realise his destiny but Sidious knew how to cultivate the future.

Before Padmé could say anything Palpatine called out, “Anakin, my boy! Help me please! I don’t— I don’t know what she’s doing!”

Anakin, panicked and singed, frantically looked between the two politicians, his mouth opening and closing without a word. Palpatine knew what he looked like, a frail and injured old man on the ground before the armed and wild senator. The blood from his head wound was nicely adding to the effect. 

“He’s the Sith—” 

“She’s going to hurt me!” Palpatine managed to drown out Padmé with sheer volume. 

“Please—” his voice rising in pitch as the senator tried to explain “—don’t let her hurt me, my boy! Anakin! Help me!”

Oh this boy, so foolish, so naive, so susceptible, took a single step in Amidala’s direction. His hand was shaking, his blue blade humming, and Sidious watched rapt as slowly, so slowly, the boy made a brief motion to reach for the blaster.

“Padmé, we should, we need to arrest him, please—” the boy was saying, oddly trying to de-escalate.

Amidala though, oh he’d forgotten what she’d been like during the invasion. It’d been years afterall and truly Sheev had thought the woman had curbed her worst impulses. Her eyes darted in Anakin’s direction, taking a careful step to the right before she shot once more at the Sith. 

Three things happened at once: Amidala fired, Anakin lunged, and Sidious casually redirected the bolt back at the woman. 

Except that blasted boy had gotten in the way, the bolt struck him high in the ribs.

Eyes wide, mouth falling open, the boy stumbled, a high keening gasp sputtering out of his mouth. Amidala shouted, jerking forward trying to catch the Jedi.

Sidious loomed over the fallen coupled, his ‘saber dripping red in the night. The edgedes of his vision graying slightly as he tracked the frantic movements of the Senator. She raised her blaster eyes blazing. Sidious wondered if she would try to shoot him again.

It was a surprise then, when Mace Windu landed in a light crouch not two meters from the Sith. Slightly singed and smeared with blood across one shoulder the Jedi Master leveled himself to his full height, bringing his purple blade to bear.

“Surrender, Chancellor. It’s over, you’ve lost.”

**Author's Note:**

> here it is; the Zillo AU! also srsly no beta we die like men sorry yall i am doing my best  
> It was remarkably easy to write from palpatine's pov which is a little alarming but what can u do. Also this is probably going to be the only time we see his POV. its perhaps not super clear but palps 100% is rocking one hell of a concussion right now.


End file.
